A historical review of research on the weaver ant Oecophylla in biological control

Abstract

1 Although the weaver ant Oecophylla is the first written record of biological control, dating from 304 ad , there have been fewer than 70 scientific publications on this predator as a biological control agent in Asia, from the early 1970s onwards, and fewer than 25 in Africa. 2 Apart from crop-specific ecological and perceptual factors, a historical review shows that political and market forces have also determined the extent to which Oecophylla was incorporated into research and development programmes. 3 In Africa, research on weaver ants in biological control concentrated on export crops, such as coconut and cocoa, whereas, in Asia and Australia, research focused on fruit and nut crops, primarily destined for domestic markets. 4 Increased evidence of pesticide inefficiency under tropical smallholder conditions, changing paradigm shifts in participatory research and a growing scientific interest in local knowledge in the early 1990s opened up new avenues for research on conservation biological control. 5 Lobbying and advocacy have been needed to ensure that Oecophylla was recognized as an effective biological control agent. 6 With an increased market demand for organic produce, holistic approaches such as conservation biological control, particularly the use of Oecophylla , are increasing in importance. 7 Multi-stakeholder strategies for collaborative learning are proposed for a better control of major fruit, nut and timber tree pests in Africa, Asia and Australia.

Farmers perception of a biological control agent, Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and its effects on the quality of citrus fruits in Ghana

“…Studies (Sinzogan et al, 2008;Van Mele, 2008a) involving citrus farmers elsewhere found that farmers generally perceived that the presence of O. longinoda in orchards improved fruit quality. However, most respondents in the present study did not observe any difference between the quality of fruits harvested from trees with and without O. longinoda.…”

Species Richness of Arboreal Ant Assemblages (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) and Frequency of <em>Oecophylla Smaragdina </em>(Fabricius) Occurrence in A Wet Zone Cashew (<em>Anacardium Occidentale L.</em>) Field in Sri Lanka

“…Many ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) are generalist predators and have the potential to control herbivore abundance, reducing the plant damage while increasing plant growth,  Corresponding author Email: rksdias@kln.ac.lk reproduction and yield (Majer 1972, Leston 1973, Schmitz et al 2000, Symondson et al 2002, Van Mele 2008 in agro-ecosystems (Way & Khoo 1992, Peng & Christian 2004, 2005, Peng et al 1995, 1997, 1999, 2014. Cashew, Anacardium occidentale L., a tree crop native to coastal Brazil, grown in many other countries including Sri Lanka (Cashew Corporation of Sri Lanka 2010) has high economic value as a fruit, nut and oil globally (Blomhoff et al 2006, FAO 2013.…”

Weaver Ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Performance in Mango and Cashew Trees Under Different Management Regimens

“…As biocontrol agents weaver ants have proven efficient in controlling several pests in plantations of mango (Peng & Christian, 2004;Peng & Christian, 2005a;Peng & Christian, 2005b ;Peng & Christian, 2006;Peng & Christian, 2007;Davidson et al, 2007;Adandonon et al, 2009;Van Mele et al, 2007), citrus (Huang & Yang, 1987;Van Mele & Cuc, 2000;Van Mele et al, 2002;Van Mele, 2008), cashew (Peng et al, 1995;Peng et al, 1997;Dwomoh et al, 2009, Olotu et al, 2013, coconut (Way, 1954;Vanderplank, 1960;Varela, 1992;Sporleder & Rapp, 1998) and cocoa (Ayenor et al, 2004;Ayenor et al, 2007). For reviews see Way and Khoo (1992) and Offenberg (2015).…”